The trip to England took him longer than he intended. He was wary of automobiles or airplanes and so took a train to France and then at Dunkerque he took the ferry over to the English port at Dover. Once there he had to take another train as close as he could then hoof it on foot the rest of the way.

When Vasall Ordensbruder arrived the scene disheartened him somewhat. Gone were the Templar banners that hung from the towers. There was no indication that the Order of the Temple had ever called this place home. Infuriated he walked up to the massive wooden doors and grabbed the iron knocker in his hand. Then he banged on the door for five minutes straight before letting the ring go and stepping back.

The wooden doors swung outward and a teenage girl stood there staring at him. He realized his appearance must have seemed odd to her as she was dressed modernly and he was wearing a monks robe. A minute passed and neither one of them spoke. Then as he opened his mouth she cut him off.

“Count Carrion is not available at the moment. Perhaps you would care to return another time?”

“I am not here to see any Count” Ordensbruder replied a bit heatedly “I am here to see the current Rook to talk business relating to the Order of the Temple. Now stand aside for I will have my audience.”

Vasall roughly pushed the girl aside and stepped into Carrion Castle. The girl was infuriated and reached for the Kris bladed dagger in her belt. As she drew it from its sheath the larger German grabbed her wrist and twisted it causing her to lose her grip on the weapon. The dagger clanked against the stone floor and she squirmed to break free. To her credit she did not let out a gasp of surprise or a squawk of pain. Instead she kicked out with her left foot and connected with his shin.

He barely felt the blow and then flung her aside letting go of her wrist as he did so and she slammed into the nearby wall. The impact knocked the wind out of her and she gasped for air as she struggled to get back up. Ordensbruder shook his head in disbelief that she was still willing to fight.

“Stay down” he ordered her and continued walking on deeper into the castle.

He didn’t notice her grab a small device from her belt and press a button. This alerted her mentor that an unauthorized intruder was now inside. So when Vasall Ordensbruder entered the Great Hall he was met with a tech-bolt to the shoulder. The modified crossbow bolt sent out an electrical charge shutting down Vasall’s nervous system effectively paralyzing him albeit only momentarily.

The Rook notched another bolt and trained his crossbow on the intruder’s face “as soon as you regain the use of your mouth you’ll have 30 seconds to explain yourself before I put one of these right between your eyes.”

As soon as his motor skills came back to him he grabbed the shaft of the bolt and yanked it free from his shoulder then he opened his mouth to speak “I am here seeking the current Rook or the Grand Master of the Knights Templar. I once fought alongside Deacon McKnight and have been living in seclusion ever since. It is time I returned to help reestablish the Order to the world.”

The Rook cautiously lowered his crossbow as Blackbird entered the Hall fully garbed and no longer in civilian attire. She too held a crossbow at the ready just in case this intruder tried anything else. Vasall Ordensbruder slowly got to his feet and rubbed his muscles trying to relieve the tension from the spasms.

“I am the Rook and the Grand Master though there is no Order left to speak of” Ethan McKnight told the newcomer with regret.

The Germanic Knight bowed then to show respect to the chosen leader and replied “I am Vasall Ordensbruder of the Order of the Temple. I helped ferry the Templar treasure from the ruins of Solomon’s Temple to this castle after the Siege. When the Church disbanded us I returned home to my native country to live out the rest of my days. Due to divine intervention I have survived till now and am ready to be of service once more.”

Ethan studied the man’s face for a long moment and recalled the vision he had of his ancestor fighting at the Siege of Solomon’s Temple. He easily remembered Brennon’s face as he had met the swordsman since then. Could it be that two warriors survived until modern times? He didn’t think it likely but as he continued to bring up the memories he saw amongst the remaining knights a man whose face matched the one he now stared at, perfectly. And he knew this man was telling the truth.

“Welcome Brother” the Rook greeted him “my apologies for the wound. Though we had no way of knowing what you were about.”

Vasall nodded in understanding “no need to apologize it was mine own doing. I should not have assaulted your squire. The years of solitude have left my skills socially insufficient. I wish to help bring the Order back to its glory so that the Knights can continue to serve humanity.”

The two of them talked for a long while with Blackbird hanging back listening with interest. She was keen to learn more of the Order’s history and it was as if she had a history book downloaded to her MP3 player that she could listen too. It was fascinating stuff. After the conversation lulled Blackbird saw her chance to ask questions.

“What’s with all the ink?” she said pointing out the tattoos that covered his torso.

“Each one shows an important point in Templar History” Ordensbruder turned to show her his back where a Temple stood in ruins upon which sat a dragon with wings outstretched across his shoulder blades and fire streaming from its nostrils “this one here shows the destruction of Solomon’s temple by powerful sorcerers. The fire breathing dragon depicts the powerful magic that was used against us.”

Blackbird whistled in amazement at the image. This man was a living hieroglyph. He continued to recount various deeds of the Templar and the three of them talked well into the night. Then the three of them retired to separate rooms for the night with plans to start planning in earnest the next morning.__________________